Indices slip following new home sales data

Equity futures were flat to higher on the open while Treasuries were ticking moderately lower. Pre-market upgrades in JBLU and DELL as well as a deal announcement for BSTE and continued strength in the energy complex were helping buoy equity markets in the early going. At 10 AM a much softer than expected Feb new home sales release reversed the markets hard. The selling in stocks was broad with home-builders and financials leading the way lower. Higher crude is helping create some relative weakness in the Transportation Average â1.8% as its declines outpace that of the other major indices. Treasury futures have rallied pushing yields lower. The 10-year note future is up 9/32 with its yield falling to 4.569%. It is worth noting that odds of a rate cut by mid-year have not really budged. The weak housing data also pressured the Dollar. The Dollar Index is off 0.3% to 83.03. Commodities are holding in positive territory led by April crude, which is up more than 1% to $63. Gold spiked on the initial Dollar weakness but has retreated from a $666.50 high to trade up $5 at $661.80.